Causes Of Mob Mentality

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Numerous situations occur everyday where the psychology of being in a group, also known as mob mentality, can overtake someone’s thought process and cause them to act differently. Mob mentality differs from the mentality a person would have when alone. An individual’s behavior changes because there is a shield of feeling anonymous when in a group. This feeling can be exciting, but it can also completely destroy a being’s ability to act normally. People lose their personal ethics due to the sensation of being in this group. Usually, the group participants share a common reason for why they assembled, and it will only take one act to rile them. Because feelings of anonymity and common thought are present, the group usually acts as if they share …show more content…

German citizens and Nazis did not realize the massive damage they, as individuals, were causing for families because they felt anonymous amidst the anti-Jewish feelings that Hitler created, and all shared the common idea that Jews were the source of Germany’s defeat in World War I. Hitler was their leader who convinced them of the need to have a pure Aryan race, and the Germans followed. Some followed through their destructive actions, and others followed by their absence and failure to speak against what was happening. As a survivor of Kaiserwald Concentration Camp says, It was “one of the darkest chapters in man’s history… It should never happen again.” World War II left behind many changes for families and Europe as a whole, and mob mentality is the most logical explanation for why, and how, a countless amount of people followed Hitler in his …show more content…

These occurrences all began with an influential leader. Whether A. Mitchell Palmer, Adolf Hitler, or Rosa Parks, these people gained an influx of supporters who acted in the same way as they did, with one mind and one goal. In addition, the safety of feeling anonymous and the urge of acting with a single mind allowed people to engage in acts ranging from discrimination, to destruction, to protests. The collective mindset created by a mob mentality was at the heart of these major historical events. The influence of being a member of a group led to these social changes of the 20th Century and can even be seen in modern day society. Prison and stadium riots and behavior at political rallies are a few current examples of the impact of mob mentality. This phenomenon will likely continue throughout years to come, as future social changes will continue to grow out of mob

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